The NHL’s contract market has changed dramatically.
The salary cap will increase to $104 million for the 2026–27 season. Kirill Kaprizov’s new contract will carry a $17-million cap hit, while Connor Bedard’s extension comes in at $15 million per season. Those deals provide important context when evaluating contracts signed several years ago. A $9-million superstar is no longer simply a reasonably priced player. He may be providing $5 million or more in annual surplus value.
This ranking is not simply a list of the NHL’s cheapest productive players. It considers five things:
Current performance, cap hit, years remaining, age and positional importance.
Entry-level contracts are excluded because their salaries are artificially restricted by the collective bargaining agreement. The ranking also penalizes contracts with only one season remaining, even when the player is providing incredible value for that final year.
Here are the NHL’s 10 most valuable veteran contracts entering 2026–27.
1. Connor McDavid — Edmonton Oilers
Cap hit: $12.5 million
Contract remaining: Two years, through 2027–28
2025–26 production: 48 goals and 138 points in 82 games
McDavid’s new contract may be the most team-friendly superstar agreement the NHL has ever seen.
His previous eight-year contract expired after the 2025–26 season, but McDavid already signed a two-year extension that begins in 2026–27. The extension carries the exact same $12.5-million cap hit and keeps him in Edmonton through 2027–28.
McDavid led the NHL with 138 points last season, winning his sixth Art Ross Trophy. He produced 48 goals and 90 assists while factoring into nearly half of Edmonton’s goals.
The remarkable part is that $12.5 million will consume only about 12 percent of the 2026–27 cap. Bedard will make $15 million, Kaprizov will make $17 million and Leo Carlsson’s matched offer sheet reached $18 million annually. McDavid could have reasonably demanded the largest cap hit in hockey and received it.
Instead, Edmonton gets the league’s most productive player for less than several players who have never reached his level.
The short term does create urgency. This is not an eight-year commitment that protects Edmonton throughout the remainder of McDavid’s prime. The Oilers have two seasons to prove they can build a championship roster around him.
But for those two seasons, no contract provides more value.
2. Nathan MacKinnon — Colorado Avalanche
Cap hit: $12.6025 million
Contract remaining: Five years, through 2030–31
2025–26 production: 53 goals and 127 points in 80 games
MacKinnon’s contract carries slightly more long-term value than McDavid’s, but McDavid remains first because he is still the better and more productive player.
MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals in 2025–26, won the Rocket Richard Trophy and finished with 127 points in 80 games. His five-on-five dominance remains one of the strongest arguments in his favour: Colorado controls play when MacKinnon is on the ice, and opponents have very few answers for his combination of speed, power and shooting volume.
His $12.6025-million contract runs through 2030–31. That means Colorado has five more seasons of MacKinnon at a cap hit that will represent a smaller percentage of the ceiling every year the cap increases.
There is some long-term risk because MacKinnon will be 35 when the contract expires. However, Colorado is not paying him for potential. It is paying him for guaranteed superstar-level performance right now.
A 50-goal, 120-point centre would likely command well beyond $15 million on the current market. Colorado gets one for approximately $12.6 million through the remainder of its primary championship window.
3. Nick Suzuki — Montreal Canadiens
Cap hit: $7.875 million
Contract remaining: Four years, through 2029–30
2025–26 production: 29 goals and 101 points in 82 games
Suzuki’s contract has gone from reasonable to ridiculous.
Montreal’s captain recorded 101 points last season, becoming the first Canadiens player in 40 years to reach 100. He also won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, finished plus-37 and led Montreal forwards in average ice time.
Suzuki has also never missed a game during his seven-season NHL career. That type of durability matters when evaluating contract value. A bargain is less valuable when the player is regularly unavailable.
Montreal has Suzuki signed for four more seasons at $7.875 million. That is only approximately 7.6 percent of the 2026–27 salary cap. His contract expires after 2029–30, when he will still be only 30 years old.
The Canadiens are getting a 100-point, Selke-winning first-line centre, captain and matchup player for less than many teams pay a good second-line forward.
Suzuki does not have McDavid or MacKinnon’s individual game-breaking ability, which keeps him out of the top two. From a pure cap-efficiency standpoint, however, he has a legitimate argument for the best contract in hockey.
4. Nikita Kucherov — Tampa Bay Lightning
Cap hit: $9.5 million
Contract remaining: One year, through 2026–27
2025–26 production: 44 goals and 130 points in 76 games
If this ranking covered only the upcoming season, Kucherov could be second.
He scored 44 goals and recorded 130 points in only 76 games last season, averaging an absurd 1.71 points per game. He then won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player.
Tampa Bay will pay him $9.5 million in 2026–27, approximately 9.1 percent of the cap. That is extraordinary value for a player coming off a 130-point MVP season.
What lowers Kucherov to fourth is the lack of term. The 2026–27 season is the final year of his eight-year agreement, and he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Tampa has one final season of one of the NHL’s most creative and productive players at a bargain price. The contract does not carry the multi-year asset value of Suzuki or MacKinnon, but its immediate value is almost unmatched.
5. David Pastrnak — Boston Bruins
Cap hit: $11.25 million
Contract remaining: Five years, through 2030–31
2025–26 production: 29 goals and 100 points in 77 games
Pastrnak’s contract does not look cheap until it is compared with the NHL’s new financial reality.
The Bruins winger recorded 100 points in 77 games last season, including a career-high 71 assists. It was his fourth consecutive 100-point season.
Boston has him signed through 2030–31 at $11.25 million per season. That represents approximately 10.8 percent of the 2026–27 cap and will likely become an even smaller percentage as league revenues and the ceiling continue rising.
Pastrnak is not merely a power-play specialist or a winger benefiting from an elite centre. He drives Boston’s offence, creates his own scoring opportunities and has continued producing even as the roster around him has changed.
The final seasons could carry risk as Pastrnak moves deeper into his 30s. For now, Boston has a perennial 100-point winger locked in for five more years at several million dollars below the NHL’s emerging superstar rate.
6. Zach Werenski — Columbus Blue Jackets
Cap hit: $9.583 million
Contract remaining: Two years, through 2027–28
2025–26 production: 22 goals and 81 points in 75 games
Werenski may be the player whose contract value changed the most over the past year.
He scored 22 goals and produced 81 points in 75 games last season while averaging 26:37 of ice time. He ranked second among NHL defensemen in points and was eventually voted the winner of the Norris Trophy.
That is No. 1-defenseman production and usage for a $9.583-million cap hit.
Columbus has Werenski signed for two more seasons, through 2027–28.
The remaining term is why he ranks behind Pastrnak. Nevertheless, paying less than $10 million for the reigning Norris winner during his prime is a tremendous advantage.
Werenski plays in every situation, carries one of the NHL’s heaviest workloads and creates offence without sacrificing the responsibilities of a true top-pair defenseman. His deal is now one of the league’s clearest bargains.
7. Cale Makar — Colorado Avalanche
Cap hit: $9 million
Contract remaining: One year, through 2026–27
2025–26 production: 20 goals and 79 points in 75 games
Makar at $9 million is almost unfair. Unfortunately for Colorado, that price lasts for only one more season.
He produced 79 points in 75 games last season and was once again a Norris Trophy finalist. Makar remains one of the NHL’s most dangerous transition players, one of its best offensive defensemen and a player capable of controlling a playoff series from the blue line.
His cap hit represents approximately 8.7 percent of the 2026–27 ceiling. Comparable elite defensemen are already pushing beyond $10 million, and the next wave of superstar contracts will move considerably higher.
Makar can become an unrestricted free agent after the season, which significantly reduces the contract’s total asset value.
For one year, however, Colorado gets an elite right-shot defenseman in his prime for $9 million. There may not be another contract in the NHL that creates as much single-season value from such an important position.
8. Quinn Hughes — Minnesota Wild
Cap hit: $7.85 million
Contract remaining: One year, through 2026–27
Minnesota acquired Hughes from Vancouver in December 2025, and he immediately transformed the Wild’s blue line.
Hughes produced 53 points in 48 regular-season games with Minnesota after the trade. He also recorded 15 points in 11 playoff games and helped Brock Faber reach new offensive levels beside him.
He will carry a cap hit of only $7.85 million in 2026–27, roughly 7.5 percent of the salary cap. That is exceptional for a former Norris winner who can play nearly half the game, quarterback a power play and control zone exits and entries at an elite level.
Like Makar and Kucherov, Hughes ranks lower because his contract expires after the upcoming season. Hughes has said he is open to re-signing with Minnesota, but until an extension is completed, the Wild possess only one guaranteed season of this bargain.
That one season could still be enormously valuable. Minnesota is trying to win now, and Hughes gives the team a legitimate franchise defenseman at a second-pair price.
9. Matt Boldy — Minnesota Wild
Cap hit: $7 million
Contract remaining: Four years, through 2029–30
2025–26 production: 42 goals and 85 points in 76 games
Boldy is no longer being paid for what he might become. He has already become a star.
The 25-year-old winger scored 42 goals and recorded 85 points in 76 games last season. He then added seven goals and 13 points in 11 playoff games.
Minnesota has him signed for four more seasons at exactly $7 million per year. That is approximately 6.7 percent of the 2026–27 salary cap. His deal expires in 2030, when he will still be only 29.
Boldy’s age and remaining term are what make the contract particularly valuable. There is little concern about paying for decline years. Minnesota controls four more seasons of what should be his physical prime.
A 40-goal winger signing a new contract today could reasonably expect to approach or exceed $12 million. The Wild are getting one for $7 million.
10. Jack Hughes — New Jersey Devils
Cap hit: $8 million
Contract remaining: Four years, through 2029–30
2025–26 production: 27 goals and 77 points in 61 games
Hughes might have the highest upside of anyone ranked in the bottom half of this list.
He recorded 77 points in only 61 games last season, a 1.26 points-per-game pace. New Jersey has him signed for four more seasons at $8 million, and he will be only 29 when the agreement expires.
When healthy, Hughes provides everything a team wants from a franchise centre: elite speed, controlled entries, creativity, playmaking and the ability to force defenders backward.
The reason he ranks 10th rather than fifth is availability.
Hughes played 62 games in 2023–24, 62 in 2024–25 and 61 last season. He has dealt with shoulder, finger and other upper-body injuries during that stretch.
That injury history introduces more risk than the contracts belonging to Boldy, Suzuki or Pastrnak. But $8 million for a 25-year-old centre capable of producing well above a point per game is still outstanding value.
A healthy Hughes could make this ranking look far too low.
Honourable Mentions
Gustav Forsling — $5.75 million through 2031–32: Florida has a legitimate top-pair defensive defenseman signed for six more seasons at a second-pair cap hit. His age and the possibility of decline during the final years narrowly keep him outside the top 10.
Tage Thompson — $7.143 million through 2029–30: Thompson scored 40 goals and 81 points last season. Four more years of that production at slightly more than $7 million is exceptional, but his inconsistency and less complete two-way profile place him just behind the final group.
Seth Jarvis — $7.42 million through 2031–32: Jarvis is only 24, scored 32 goals in 71 games and contributes on both special teams. The six remaining years and deferred-compensation structure make his contract a major long-term asset for Carolina.
Andrei Vasilevskiy — $9.5 million through 2027–28: Vasilevskiy won the 2026 Vezina Trophy and remains one of hockey’s most proven goalies. He misses the top 10 largely because goaltending is volatile and $9.5 million is still a significant commitment to the position.
Final Ranking
- Connor McDavid
- Nathan MacKinnon
- Nick Suzuki
- Nikita Kucherov
- David Pastrnak
- Zach Werenski
- Cale Makar
- Quinn Hughes
- Matt Boldy
- Jack Hughes
The most important distinction is between single-season bargains and long-term foundational contracts.
Kucherov, Makar and Quinn Hughes may provide some of the greatest value in the entire NHL during 2026–27, but their deals expire after the season. Suzuki, MacKinnon, Pastrnak, Boldy and Jack Hughes give their teams several more years of below-market production.
McDavid offers the best combination of both.
Edmonton gets the best player in hockey at a cap hit below the NHL’s new superstar market, with two seasons remaining to finally turn that financial sacrifice into a Stanley Cup.
